Should fares to Reading and stations towards London be "Ovalled"

[JonathanH]

TfL, having been awarded a substantial contract to implement this contactless charging system, seem distinctly uninterested in supporting anything which doesn't fit into 'their model'. For example, Railcards and local zone capping.

Are TfL (or presumably its agents) distinctly uninterested, or is it that DfT are happy for fares reform to be enacted to bring in a different structure of charging? TfL (and its agents) admittedly haven't delivered what was promised.

There are winners as well as losers from what is being implemented. Indeed, it is conceivable that the recent hikes in off-peak fares in the Thames Valley are in part a consequence of there being too many winners from Contactless implementation.

 

[redreni]

Oval doesn't do that, no. Just Mon-Fri.

Actually, in light of this, I am keen that it takes as long as possible for these fares to be Ovalled ('Ovalised'?). I travel on this route on a weekday evening more often than I make anything other than a day return trip.

Evening peak restrictions on paper tickets on the Elizabeth Line would cost me quite a bit (my regular journey is a cross-London journey to Berkshire, out early evening return late evening) rather than a local Berkshire journey, but I have to do it on a paper ticket or I don't get my Network Railcard discount).

In fact, if the GWR-set fares were Ovalised I might need to look to start short on a Southeastern-priced ticket from somewhere in Kent, if that were the only way to defeat the evening peak restrictions.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Actually, in light of this, I am keen that it takes as long as possible for these fares to be Ovalled ('Ovalised'?). I travel on this route on a weekday evening more often than I make anything other than a day return trip.

Evening peak restrictions on paper tickets on the Elizabeth Line would cost me quite a bit (my regular journey is a cross-London journey to Berkshire, out early evening return late evening) rather than a local Berkshire journey, but I have to do it on a paper ticket or I don't get my Network Railcard discount).

In fact, if the GWR-set fares were Ovalised I might need to look to start short on a Southeastern-priced ticket from somewhere in Kent, if that were the only way to defeat the evening peak restrictions.

You can't make a revenue-neutral omelette without breaking any eggs. On the WCML, like when it switched to a 3 step structure, some of my journeys have got cheaper (some substantially so) and some of them have got more expensive (and in some cases I've found workarounds to it getting more expensive*). I guess you would be one of the losers but there would be as many winners, most notably anyone who commutes to London starting their journey (tapping in) at 0629 or earlier.

* For instance the railway "buys me a Nando's" on the way home sometimes - I travel later so off peak, and the difference in fare for the Nando's I have while I wait is a significant contribution to the cost thereof

 

[Starmill]

It would be a bit of a shift, but should these be moved to an Oval style single fare priced structure with the contactless and paper fares the same? It seems strange this wasn't done as part of Liz "go live".

TfL Rail began running to Reading at the December 2019 timetable change, so the rollout of CPay prices was agreed far before Oval would have been ready.

The 2022 expansion didn't change the fare structure so that may be the reason you're thinking it's strange? Reading - London wasn't part of Oval so none of those changes affected it either.

It's quite similar to Grays and Gatwick Airport really.

 

[JonathanH]

The 2022 expansion didn't change the fare structure so that may be the reason you're thinking it's strange? Reading - London wasn't part of Oval so none of those changes affected it either.

Fares from Reading to the Oval stations were changed to single leg pricing as a result of Phase 1 of Oval.

It's quite similar to Grays and Gatwick Airport really.

Yes, which also have single leg pricing to Phase 1 Oval stations.

 

[Starmill]

If you have to change in London the paper fares and the contactless ones work slightly differently, which is a bit of an anomaly but again hard to fix (without a million different restriction codes) because of how each system works - it's as close as it reasonably can be.

I think you've underestimated the problems that have been caused a tad I'm afraid. Firstly most of the paper tickets ban departures between 0430 and 0630 (not all though) which CPay doesn't.

Secondly, something really basic like St Albans Abbey to Watford High Street is a mess, the peak and off peak journeys that are possible or not allowed vary quite a lot now depending on paper ticket vs CPay.

And if you think that's bad, don't look at the time restrictions on Wimbledon - Watford Junction or compare them with the restrictions on Wimbledon - Hemel Hempstead!

Or an alternative way of looking at the above is that say St Albans Abbey to Clapham Junction has the afternoon time restriction but Hemel Hempstead to Clapham Junction doesn't. Unless you want to go via London in which case it does. Even though Hemel Hempstead to London on its own doesn't.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jun 2025 ==

Fares from Reading to the Oval stations were changed to single leg pricing as a result of Phase 1 of Oval.

Obviously yes. But they did for every station in London, not just Reading.

 

[JonathanH]

Obviously yes. But they did for every station in London, not just Reading.

At one point earlier this year GWR reverted to non-single leg pricing for off-peak singles to the Oval destinations from Reading, but then reintroduced them, so they could be causing a revenue issue. That, of course, created other issues as the anytime single became cheaper than the off-peak day single.

This is how the fares were from Reading to Hemel Hempstead on 11 March
See https://www.brfares.com/!fares?orig=RDG&dest=HML&period=20250302

[Screenshot shows fares of £40.80 for the off-peak day return and off-peak day single, but £72.40 and £36.20 for the anytime day return and anytime day single.]

They have since reverted to the single fare basis for the off-peak day single tickets.

That said, the disparity between fares on different route combinations for cross London travel, even against one day travelcards to destinations just beyond is crazy, and Oval is doing nothing to amend that.

 

[Jimini]

They've already recently bumped up our one day off peak travelcards by 75p by stealth (network railcard discounted). Leave us be!